8th Feb 07 ARMSHARE update :Link Back to Page 6 Here


Information Archive Folder : http://www.esnips.com/web/SurfaceTransformsInfo/


Main Web Site : http://www.surface-transforms.com/

March 2008 Presentation : Presentation Link


Commerical Overview

Surface Transform plcs core activity is exploiting proprietary technologies to create innovative, lightweight, high energy dissipating braking system materials, which can be commercialised for high-performance applications.

Surface Transforms plc has worked on technology programmes in collaboration with major companies such as AlliedSignal Inc, BAE Systems/Roxel, Dunlop Aerospace and Faiveley

Today, Surface Transforms is commercialising its products for an increasing range of high-performance applications. These include automotive, motorsport and aircraft brakes, for which the company has developed Ceramic brakes with improved friction properties, enhanced lifetime and lower production costs. Other growth areas include aerospace components (principally rocket motors) and anti-ballistic armour.

Key milestones have included:

-A new aircraft brakes development contract (Jan 2004) with a leading US based aircraft brakes maker
-A licensing contract (September 2003) with Dunlop Aerospace to develop and supply CFRC brakes;
-A contract with the UK Ministry of Defence to supply innovative materials that will increase protection against high-power rifle and cannon fire;
-A contract with the United States Airforce Research Laboratory for the supply of prototype CFRC materials for military applications.
-First commercial sales of carbon-ceramic brake discs for installation on the KOENIGSEGG Swedish supercar
-First commercial sales of Carbon Ceramic road car discs to StopTech the California based brake system upgrade specialists.
-First commercial sales of Carbon Ceramic road car discs to MOVIT one of the leading brake after-market upgrade kit suppliers based in Germany.


Not expecting anything over night here but to me it is now at the stage of becoming a good play with potential rewards in 2010 onwards on success.

To be embargoed until 7.00am on 14 December, 2005

Surface Transforms Plc
('Surface Transforms' or 'the Company')
Trading Update, Directorate Change & Director's Interests

Surface Transforms first six months trading for the 2005/6 financial year
closed on 30 November, 2005.Unaudited turnover for the six months was 68,302 (
2004: 208,442) and Cash on deposit was 2.1 million ( May 2005: 2.73
million)

Despite the reduction in turnover from the comparative period in 2004 which
included sales from a development contract with Dunlop Aerospace, turnover has
increased compared to the previous six months ended 31 May 2005 of 49,914.
Turnover in the first half comprised principally revenues from a development
contract with a US aircraft brake manufacturer, sales of rocket motor
components and a small amount of sales of high performance automotive brake
disc systems. The Company's order book is currently 44,500. The interim
results will be released during February 2006.

Automotive

a) General

The most recent on road tests were on 16 November and 12 December at the
Anglesey racetrack, where ceramic brakes on a number of cars were evaluated by
both test drivers and engineering teams. There were encouraging successes and
up to date news, including endorsements from certain car manufacturers which
can be accessed on
www.systemst.com
and www. surface-transforms.com. The grant
award announced last month assists and underscores the Company's drive to
deliver a highly cost effective brake, which can be used for both Track and
Road car requirements.

b) Aftermarket

Sales from the automotive after market had been expected to be higher by this
stage. However, the first sales channel established has not yet proved
successful. In order to provide greater control over the entry to this market,
the Company has taken two steps. The first has been development of the ability
to tune the whole braking system (ie brake disc, brake pad, wheel bell and
bobbin) for a targeted vehicle model so as to ensure satisfactory braking
performance in terms of both stopping distance performance and noise, vibration
and harshness. The second is to enter the UK aftermarket by targeting
particularly suitable models of Porsche and Ferrari initially, and then select
brake fitting companies specialising in those models to assemble and fit the
company's system - three such companies in the UK have already been contracted
with. Once this business model is established, the company intends to roll it
out by vehicle model and by country.

c) Vehicle Manufacturers

A number of EU car manufacturers of high performance cars (both high and low
volume) continue to evaluate System ST brake systems. Further to the Anglesey
track day referred to above, it is expected that low volume manufacturers of
specialist sports cars will be the first category of manufacturers to adopt the
system.

The Board

Peter Holland has indicated that due to his other executive business
commitments he wishes to resign as a non-executive director with immediate
effect. Peter is a successful businessman in the industrial chemical market and
since his appointment as a non-executive director in 2003, he has been
instrumental in guiding the reshaping of the Company. During 2005, he assumed
an interim executive role to ensure a smooth management transition, which led
to the appointment of Dr. Kevin Johnson as Managing Director. His wise counsel
will be missed but he will continue to be available to the Company for advice
on specific issues. The Company has started the process of looking for another
industry relevant non-executive director.

Peter Holland owns 170,515 shares in Surface Transforms and as part of his
departure has agreed to sell 31,000 shares to Julio Faria, resulting in the
latter's holding increasing to 2,357,845 shares in the Company, representing
16.8 per cent. of the issued share capital of the Company.

Outlook

Whilst introducing a new, high technology product is never straightforward,
particularly in terms of predicting timing of take up, the board continues to
view the future with confidence based on the steps which it is taking to
provide the Company with greater control over its entry into the automotive
aftermarket and also the greater control and understanding which the Company
now has over every stage of its production process, leading to lower
manufacturing costs and a stronger platform from which to conduct licensing
negotiations with OEMs.

For enquiries, please contact:

Surface Transforms plc John East & Partners Limited (NOMAD)

Dr. Kevin Johnson 0151 373130 Johnny Townsend, Simon Clements

Mr. Kevin D'Silva 07802 306956 0207 628 2200

Teather & Greenwood (Broker)

Mark Dickenson, Sindre Ottesen

0207 426 9000

The update was exactly where I expected them to be in all effect, 2006 should see "a" or "some" smaller OEM sign ups for System ST as standard, followed by more in 2007, with 2008 seeing car braking becoming big, just as Rocket components and Aircraft braking projects kick in. Still all in the three year plan to significant change, and good news that some very significant progress is now being made on the car braking systems, a lot of the failures would appear down to a lack of understanding in the past on the full tuning of brake systems for cars (all components), a problem which is now overcome as was noted at the recent AGM prior to todays update.



www.systemst.com

Track Testing News

13th December 2005

Another Successful Track Day.............On car development of System ST ceramic discs continues with further track testing at the Ty Croes circuit on Anglesey. The circuit is relatively short and very demanding on the brakes of any car negotiating the circuit, making it an ideal location for brake evaluation. Yesterday we saw a back to back comparison between two identical cars, the only difference being the installation of System ST on one of the cars. Three experienced test drivers all reported that the ceramic brake
option showed its full benefit on the track, providing a consistent brake throughout the period on the track, showing no signs of fade as seen with the cast iron discs. The brake was much more positive and hence the test drivers could brake that bit much later on approaching a bend "The ceramic brakes are much better than the cast iron" said Gavin Beach. Technical Director of TVR Engineering. "There was no fade in the brakes as they got warm and I had more time to think about gear changes on approaching a bend, due to the additional confidence in the capability of the brakes."
SystemST ceramic brakes are unique in their suitability for both road and track use.
Surface Transforms Plc offers ceramic discs and upgrade kits for a variety of high performance cars including several Ferrari, Porsche and BMW models. If you are interested in getting SystemST lightweight ceramic brakes on your car, and more performance into your braking, contact Antoni Sznerch at as@surface-transforms.com

Added another load at 20.5p this morning, cheap as chips for those willing to hold for 2 or 3 years :) Merry Christmas all !

Major shareholder information in the header updated now.

For shorter term revenue increases, the last words by the TVR Tech Director from November (and given another good test result in December too with TVR) sounds good for an early 2006 deal with TVR, which once they start should be followed by some other smaller OEM deal in 2006, and as I keep saying, once you get a few smaller OEM's using it, then the big boys finally will take notice. This improvement and start of revenues from car brakes is reflected in the T&G next years figures with reduction in loss down to 450K for 06/07 from the expected 600K from this financial year 05/06. If they can get more than just TVR signed up, there could be some upside in those 06/07 figures, and the potential to get much nearer to breakeven. Any one of the big OEM's coming in early, although not expected before 07/08 financial year, would give some serious surprise upside, as would going into stage 3 tests for the aircraft braking deal, and also release of the confidential info about who the deal is with and what it is for, but again that will most likely be 07/08 year. Although SCE remains like other blue sky tech stocks, it is not priced like them, and is trading at near to cash in bank levels, with no value given for the enterprise itself. This to me is what gives SCE a good chance for a small re-rating when a deal like TVR is signed and announced.



Surface Transforms Plc held a track day at the Ty Croes racing circuit on the North Wales island of Anglesey on the 16th of November, 2005.
System ST ceramic brakes were fitted to the amazing new TVR Sagaris

http://www.tvreng.co.uk/intro.html#tamint3

The following quote was given by: Gavin Beach, Technical
Director of TVR Engineering Ltd.

The SystemST ceramic brakes installed on our new TVR Sagaris behaved extremely well on the Anglesey track on November 16th, and from an efficacy and performance viewpoint they met or exceeded our expectations. In terms of performance the stopping distance is equivalent to the best high performance steel disc we use, and performance appears unaffected by the more extreme temperatures encountered on the race track. In addition, four ceramic brake discs reduce the critical unsprung weight of our cars by 12 kg. We shall continue to test and evaluate SystemST with a view to using these ceramic brake systems on our cars in the near future.

The cross trade (X) today explains things, I think P Holland has agreed to pass the small amount left of his stock on to someone else (Faria took some at full price, someone else wants them cheaper I think and that is why we are down since the update in Dec).

Nice to see it return blue now year end is gone ;)

Don't you love the MM's, slam the price down for year end sells getting as much as you can on the cheap, and then lift it back up again, blue again today as was yesterday :)

Someone purchased 50K at 22p this morning (delayed reporting).

A director buy ?

Copied a few posts over from another BB, as some good points raised and discussed I think.


Gelp - 7 Jan'06 - 00:42 - 103 of 106
The latest porche boxster price list/book has the ceramic brakes listed as optional extra at 4550. I assume they are from ST - any others?
It's a pretty expensive optional extra - though the way my wife drives could be worth it!
Its good to see exposure of the product.
I do not know if listed on the other (faster) Porche price lists.
Dilema:What is better investment new Boxster (and keep the 5 year old, 20k miles one) or more shares?


PapalPower - 7 Jan'06 - 01:08 - 104 of 106
Gelp, Porsche have their own system, called PCCB and so do Ferrari and others. The trouble is they have had a bad reputation, the OEM systems have been very very expensive, not lasting a fraction of the 300,000M they are supposed too and other things too.

SCE is providing a system which is less than half the price (much less than half in most circumstances and sometimes way even below that), for improved performance and longer life. This is why I think the company focus is presently on aftermarket sales, while they offer a much cheaper and better upgrade for users who did not opt for Cermaic brakes from the off, and as an alternate cheaper replacement for those not happy with the OEM system, and want the benefits but not the high cost of maintaining the OEM system. This is the immediate target for sales, whilst they pursue OEM's who might not have the money to waste like Porsche and Ferrari on making their own system, and also pursue these larger OEM's who might have plans or already be producing a ceramic braking system, but who cannot produce the goods OR who can produce the goods but at horrific expensive prices.

This is where it snowballs for SCE, or should, as once some people start offering the Ceramic brake option at lets say 2000, its a bad sales pitch for others offering the system at 5000 or 10,000, and either they have to reduce their price, or also adopt the SCE system.

SCE have been working as a major goal of reducing the price to manufacture and improving the performance, which is what they have now, a low priced product that we are led to belive now outperforms the highly expensive systems of Porsche and Ferrari. They have also patented those processes, as was reported recently, so they are in lead position now with the ability to produce these at decent cost effective pricing, patented.

PapalPower - 7 Jan'06 - 01:50 - 105 of 106
The main benefits with the ceramic system I think are ;

1/ Weight reduction (benefiting performance and fuel efficiency). Quite dramatic weight reduction is possible using cermaic brakes over standard steel ones. (Put a bag of cement in the back of your car, see how it runs with it, and when its removed, the effects are larger than you think)

2/ Long life, longer than the life of the car.

3/ Improved performance under certain operating conditions.

4/ Large reduction in dust generation.


Now although initially the targets are high performance cars, the benefits would also be great on your smaller models (less weight, improved fuel efficiency, less maintenance), but that needs someone to be able to produce the technology at cheaper and cheaper prices.

Now did SCE recently get a grant to investigate further reductions in cost of manufacture of cermaic brake disks ? Do you see a plan in action ?

To me finally, I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel, a plan being executed, and once we get some small OEM's signed up, like TVR, then things look very exciting.


(Oh, and all these benefits in manufacturing costs, should be rolled on to aircraft braking systems. Apart from the big commercial ones, there was interest in military applications, but the trouble there is, the military budgets are always being cut, but now if someone can supply the technology cheaper, these options start to open up again)

Advanced ceramics is not just about performance, its about costs as well, if you can have excellent performance and low cost, then you win. As can be seen from Porsche and Ferrari OEM systems, the performance is (now after a lot of work) potentially there, but these OEM's cannot provide that performance at decent low cost. Half or quarter the price of the ceramic brake option, and watch its request for use go up and up, it could even become standard due to performance and weight benefits.

Gelp - 9 Jan'06 - 01:47 - 106 of 106
Ty 4 very very helpful post. I did see an announcement of the 200k announcement for a grant to develop low cost methods of manufacture - whether received yet I do not know.
The 4550 cost plus Vat makes the present option by far the most expensive optional extra - priced NOT to sell perhaps - so sure the possibility of better quality at lower (sensible) cost is great.
I met Kevin d'Silva a few years ago when he was with Ferraris (FER)- not the cars - during the growth years and I was impressed - one of the reasons I bought a few shares (SCE) in the first place -
Thanks again for the posts.

Should be the last sells of any left over RHPS holders today who are not going to hold any longer. This is good, as it now sets us up nicely for when news comes, hopefully on the TVR deal and hopefully in Q1. Will be adding yet again in the coming weeks.

http://www.systemst.com/downloads/news/Autosport-Show06.pdf

SystemST at Autosport International Exhibition

12th & 13th January 2006


Surface Transforms Plc exhibits its SystemST carbon-ceramic brakes at Autosport - The Racing Car Show, NEC Birmingham, 12th & 13th January 2006
Autosport Engineering is the fastest-growing international motorsport technology show in the world and provides a forum for those involved in the industry to meet suppliers and find out about the best new products and services on offer. Last years show in January saw over 25,000 trade visitors from around the world visiting over 380 stands.

The exhibition covers every part of the motorsport industry ranging from braking systems and electronics to metal-testing and lubricants. Surface Transforms plc (ST) is taking this opportunity to promote and exhibit its SystemST Carbon-Ceramic brakes for road and track use. ST will be located in Hall 20, stand E630 at the show.

SystemST carbon-ceramic brake discs utilise ST proprietary technology, producing a 70% lighter disc, increased friction levels, reduced brake fade, extended lifetime and higher integrity compared to steel.

Installing SystemST carbon-ceramic brake discs dramatically improves a cars
performance through improved handling, increased stopping power, reduced stopping distances, no corrosion, no disc wear and nominal fade.

SystemST carbon-ceramic brake discs are suitable for both road and track applications and Surface Transforms Plc offers ceramic discs and upgrade kits for a variety of high performance cars including several Ferrari, Porsche and BMW models. If you are interested in getting SystemST lightweight ceramic brakes on your car, and experiencing the benefits of this cutting edge technology, contact Antoni Sznerch at as@surfacetransforms.com

Interesting write up on the Ferrari conversion;

http://www.systemst.com/downloads/information-packs/F48-Information-Pack.pdf

And a good presentation on the benefits of carbon ceramic brake systems. Takes a some time to load before the show begins.

http://www.systemst.com/flash/Steel-vs-Ceramic.swf

Nice to see a little movement today, so many things going on in the background ;)

A photo of the new Aston Martin Rapide, no idea on the brakes though.





But they do look ceramic do they not, now the question is who else are Surface Transforms working with ? We know about TVR.........but there are a number of other OEM's also working with Surface Transforms, just no details released about who they are.

Something must be up, either a T trade buy to come through, or some news will be released in the coming weeks.

I now have some informal and indicative pricing information on Ceramic Braking Systems (prices for reference only) , which shows the present advantages of SystemST over OEM :


To convert an existing Porsche with standard braking to ceramic braking ;

Official Porsche Kit (EXCluding fitting) 11,415 (inc VAT / inc calipers etc.)

System ST Kit 4 disc (INCluding fitting) 8,132 (inc VAT / inc calipers etc.)

Therefore if you add the labour prices (and they are not cheap per hour) to fit the offical Porsche Kit, you could well be looking at the Porsche kit being at least 50% more expensive, maybe morem than the System ST Kit.


Taking this down to a base level cost for the ceramic disc only, then ;

Replacement Porsche Disc approx 3,000 (inc VAT)

System ST disc approx 1,469 (inc VAT)

Very well played by Surface Transforms, we know from the trading statement what is the state of play, we know its going to be around a 650K loss, we have been through that already, so the pending results hold no negative surprises, which is good :)


Surface Transforms plc
('Surface Transforms' or 'the Company')
Notice of results

Surface Transforms plc, manufacturer of high technology carbon ceramic
materials for braking systems, will announce its interim results for the six
months ended 30 November 2005 on Tuesday, 28 February 2006. A trading statement on the first six months of the 2005/6 financial year was released on 14
December 2005 and can be viewed on the Company's website

For those wanting to buy into the story and preparted to hold for a couple of years, a good buying opportunity should be coming, and that is results day, 28th Feb. We all know in advance what they contain in terms of losses (650K approx) so if the MM's drop the price on results, will be a decent buying op I think.
SCE remains a buy and hold for 2008/9 for me.